Facial tissue cartons come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, but they can generally be classified as either one of two basic styles. One style is the flat carton and the other is the upright carton. In the flat cartons, the tissues are laid flat in the bottom of the carton and are withdrawn from the top of the carton or through an opening in the top which partially extends down the front sidewall. The tissues within the carton may be interfolded for pop-up dispensing or merely laid on top of each other for reach-in dispensing. In the upright cartons, the tissues are folded into an inverted u-shaped clip and are interfolded for pop-up dispensing. The tissues are withdrawn through a dispensing opening in the top of the carton, which may contain a poly film having a slit to hold the popped up tissue in place.
The dispensing problems associated with flat cartons and upright cartons are distinctly different. With flat cartons, the major dispensing concern is usually "fallback", which occurs as the tissue clip within the carton gets low and the distance from the uppermost tissue to the opening in the top of the carton gets longer. This can cause the tissue to fall back into the box rather than being retained by the opening for ready removal. On the other hand, fallback is not a problem for upright cartons because the inverted u-shaped clip maintains all of the tissues within the clip in close proximity to the top opening at all times. However, tearing of the tissue sheets upon removal from the carton is a concern because of the frictional forces and pressures associated with the inverted u-shaped clip being pressed up against the walls of the carton and the intra-tissue contact. These resistive forces can cause the tissues to tear as they are pulled through the dispensing opening. This is particularly true for the first few sheets dispensed after the carton is opened. The problem is lessened as the tissues within the carton are used up and the compression of the clip is reduced.